More and more of us are turning to the internet in our search for love

No longer the forums of the sad and the desperate, online dating has become an established norm for singletons of all ages looking for the elusive 'One'.

However, while most of us will know of at least one loved-up couple who met over the internet or through a dating app, new research casts a shadow over the world of online romance.

Couples who met online have higher break-up rates than those introduced in traditional dating settings, according to a new report yesterday.

The increasing popularity of social media, online dating sites, and mobile applications for meeting people and initiating relationships has made online dating an effective means of finding a future spouse.

But now a new study in the US has extended this comparison of online/offline meeting venues to include non-marital relationships, and explore whether break-up rates for both marital and non-marital relationships differ depending on whether a couple first met online or offline.

In the article 'Is Online Better Than Offline for Meeting Partners? Depends: Are You Looking to Marry Or to Date?' Aditi Paul, Michigan State University, East Lansing, provides data showing higher break-up rates for couples who met online compared to offline whether they were in marital or non-marital romantic relationships.

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Additional factors besides the meeting venue can help predict whether a couple will stay together or break up, according to the author; these may differ for marital versus non-marital relationships and include the quality and duration of the relationship.

Couples who met online have higher break-up rates than those introduced in traditional dating settings

The findings are reported in an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.